Why Conversations are the Most Important

Metric in Travel Scott Eddy

@MrScottEddy

Who am I?• 678K Twitter Followers• 21K Facebook Followers• 108K Instagram Followers

@MrScottEddy

Social media is the #2 source of travel ideas and recommendations

According to more than 10,000 social media users :

• Social media ranks second to friends and family as a source of travel ideas and recommendations

• 76% of social media users have a dream trip list, however only 8% have been everywhere on that list

• Holidays and vacations are the third-most reported topic that users consume

http://www.tnooz.com/article/travelers-love-social-media-heres-travel-brands-must-keep/

What we’ll be talking about• Quick background• Social media platforms• Travel + Social• 3 most important things

• Investing in time and compelling content• Providing travelers with a personalized experience • Keeping conversations at the core of your social media strategy and presence

in all interactions• 6 things to avoid• 6 conversation tips• Measuring ROI

A little about me

Travel + Social Media

How can travel brands take advantage of their unique position and capitalize on it?

Different platforms for different audiences

FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM PINTEREST1.44 billion users

• 87% of adults 18 – 29 • 77% of adult women /

66% of adult men

Swiss Army knife of social media platforms

316 million users

• 37% of adults 18–29• 25% of adults 30–49• 24% of adult men / 21%

of adult women• Mostly used in urban &

suburban areas

Immediate, real-time information – especially for news & industries

300 million users

• 53% of adults 18–29 • 29% of online females /

22% of online males • 70 million photos per

day; 810 per second

Highly visual and inspirational

70 million users

• 34% of adults 18–29• 28% of adults 30–49.• 27% of adults 50–64 • 42% of online women

use Pinterest / 13% of online men

Highly visual and inspirational + a huge traffic driver

http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/01/PI_SocialMediaUpdate20144.pdf

Millennials• Travelers who were born between the early 1980s and

early 2000s • 20% of international travelers • Expected to make 320 million international trips each

year by 2020• A 47% increase from 2013

Customer Service & Crisis Communications

In Q1 of 2015 customers asked companies almost 8 million questions through Twitter and Facebook.

The average response rate was only 18% on Twitter and 59% on Facebook.

How do we do this?1. Investing in time and

compelling content2. Providing personalized, relevant

experiences3. Keeping conversations at the

center of all interactions

1. Invest in time and compelling content

2. Provide a personalized, relevant experience

https://twitter.com/JetBlue

3. Keep conversations at the center of all

interactions

1. Don’t simply pump out content

2. Don’t avoid or ignore tough questions or situations

3. Don’t try to reach everyone at once

4. Don’t expect one person to be able to handle it all

5. Don’t always go for the hard sell

6. Don’t be scared of trying something new

Conversations - 6 things to avoid

1.Listen

Conversations – 6 tips to keep in mind

“The art of conversation lies in listening.” -Malcom Forbes

2. Sound human

⏎ ⏎

Big company

Human

3. Jump in

4. Ask Questions

5. Be transparent

6. Have fun!

ROI – The “R” stands for “Relationships”

Determining your ROI

Total engagement ÷ Total content = Content effectiveness

Total followers ÷ Unique followers who interact = The strength and quality of your community

Determining your ROI

• What is a retweet worth for you?• What was the reach of your tweets during a

campaign?• How often did people use your hashtag?• How many times did people click through from

your URL?

Twitter ROI

1. Did you successfully reach your target audience?2. How many shares did your posts receive?3. How many people clicked through to your

website?

Facebook ROI

25 million euros in revenue to social media

What does this mean for your company?

Question Time